Helen trained as an adult psychiatrist at the Maudsley and Bethlem Hospital School in London. She has clinical interests in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders and the connections with primary mental health care. 

She has worked at SHSC for 22 years and as Deputy Medical Director since 2016. She is a Health Foundation and a Salzburg Global Sciana Fellow and is passionate about quality improvement and coproduction.

Helen leads on a number of digital, workforce, population health and sustainability projects. 

She has a role as Associate Director of Teaching and Honorary Senior Lecturer within the School of Medicine and Population Health at the University of Sheffield where she promotes an integrated and teaching approach to healthcare students. 

Nationally, as Associate Registrar for Leadership and Management, she has overseen the development of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management accredited Leadership and Management Fellowship Programme and as a Royal College of Psychiatrists Specialist Workforce Advisor she has also overseen a number of projects on governance and training for new roles in mental health.